


Huntik: Legacy of the Casterwill

by JoaoAlves



Category: Huntik: Secrets & Seekers
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:21:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29651958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoaoAlves/pseuds/JoaoAlves
Summary: The life of Lok Lambert never was as interesting as it is now. With Dante becoming a member of the Huntik Council, the team is now without a leader and it's up to Lok to fill the position. Meanwhile, a new threat arises from the remains of the Organization, the self intituled "The Alliance".  Will the Organization and the Foundation be able to coordinate a strike against these seekers who seek control through fear and dark magic?And while this new war starts, Cathy Lambert discovered her powers, convinced she is the last of her kind. She will have to learn swiftly if she doesn't want that fate to become real. Mastering the art of Eathon Lamber can be a path of struggle, and mainly, danger. Will she be up to the task?The Season 3 Fanfiction that comes to fill the void Rainbow S.p.A. wasn't able to manage after years. The end is close, will Lok, Dante, Sophie, Zhalia, Den, Harrison and Cherit be able to avoid it as usual? What allies will they find and, most important, what enemies? Friends and foes will be found in the most unexpected places while the team makes its journey to the depths of the Spirit World, Huntik.
Relationships: Sophie Casterwill/Lok Lambert, Zhalia Moon/Dante Vale
Comments: 7
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The Huntik Fandom](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=The+Huntik+Fandom).



> Disclaimer: I do not own this story nor the characters in it. This is a work developed by a fan of the original series and all the rights are owned by Rainbow S.p.A. and Iginio Scraffi.
> 
> Disclaimer: This story is developed based on the ending of Huntik: Seekers and Secrets Season 2 debuted in 2012. It is not canon material and should not be treated as such.
> 
> Disclaimer: This story is a fan theory of how Season 3 of Huntik could have been, developed on the belief that it will never be developed and published. If, in the very unlikely event that Season 3 is indeed debuted, this fan fiction loses its role as a replacement of said season.
> 
> Disclaimer: The story (obviously) contains countless spoilers of Season 1 and 2 of Huntik: Seekers and Secrets. To watch both series, please contact us in Huntik's discord (https://discord.gg/A6UQRdx) so we can inform you of the current best method to watch the series.

_For the sake of nostalgia, I ask you to imagine Holotome's voice reading this first part which recovers the last events of Episode 52, Dante's Return._

**Spiral Mark - Blood Spiral Base, Siberian Plateau**

Den and Harrison try to work their differences out while the Betrayer advances on them. The Huntik team, the Foundation and the Casterwills struggle in her battle against the Betrayer and his Legendary Titan, Demigorgan

Lok, Sophie and Zhalia see her titans fall out of their control as the Betrayer uses its full power to project copies of their seekers and control them. Lok powerbonds with Pendragon, but even the Legendary Titan of Champions falls into the Betrayer's hands.

To save the day, Lok invokes Quetzalcoatl, the Legendary Titan of Summonings, and defeats Demogorgon. With the help of everyone and with his Titan out of the way, the Betrayer is then cornered, but as seems to regain control of the situation, Dante reappears, saved by the Phoenix's powers of resurrection. Together and with the true final quatrain of Nostradamus, the Betrayer is finally defeated.


	2. Chaos at the Council: Episode 53 Part 1

**Huntik International HQ - Manhattan, New York**

Of the several buildings and skyscrapers in the city of Manhattan, few are quite like 1296 Madison Ave. The prototype of Art Déco, a true miniature of the Empire State Building, was sold in the early 1920s to an international private organization to work as their Head Quarters. To this day, nobody from the neighbourhood was completely sure of what that organization was about, yet some theorized it should be something linked to mythology or history, due to fragments of conversations that pedestrians caught while passing through the lobby of that limestone white tower.

Zhalia Moon was not one of those who weren't aware of the true purposes of the Huntik Foundation. She was sitting in the waiting room, just outside of the Council Chamber where the Huntik Council was having an emergency reunion for over an hour.

After finishing the second five years old magazine available for reading in the room, Zhalia felt the necessity to have news from Dante Vale, a member of the Council and the friend she was staying with during her visit to the States. She opened her backpack and took her Teknonomicon. No messages were reported. Weird.

Rising her head, she was able to spot the secretary behind the counter, working on his Holotome. The green hologram in front of him was the projection of a list of people he should call to ask the mission reports. Giving the fact the Huntik foundation was overseeing dozens of missions around the world, it was hard to have a permanent contact between the Council and the team leaders. His job was to guarantee the Council was updated with the latest information of the Seeker world. If anything was to be reported, he should write it down in his logosbook, an artefact that transmits written information instantaneously to his twin logosbook, across any distance. Zhalia was trying her best to contain her will to bother him but, after an hour without news, her strength of will was starting to weaken.

The boy, who was in his twenties, was clearly tired. Probably stayed all night awake aiding one of the members of the Council instead of going to a club with his friends to drink and have some fun. He noticed Zhalia's impatience but ignored it. She, on the other hand, had enough of waiting.

Standing up from the back plastic chair that was given to her so she could wait, Zhalia crossed the marble white room and leaned over to the counter, clearing her voice to call the secretary's attention.

"Yes?" he asked in a not so friendly voice.

His glasses and brownish curly hair gave him the classical look of a nerd. He was probably a second class seeker who prefers to be the slave of a successful philanthropist than a field worker or a deputy researched in one of the Foundation's facilities lost somewhere in the world. A city boy that had the childish idea that New York City was the best place in the world, with the greatest feats of art, engineering and now, magic.

"How long will it take until the Council's recess." she asked.

"And who would like to know, may I ask?"

"A seeker that is ten times more successful than you could ever be." she shot "Named Zhalia Moon if you must."

His eyes were now as unfriendly as his voice. Tilting his head down, he quickly tapped a few symbols in the holographic projection and checked some notes in the logosbook."

They should be coming out any minute now." he informed "Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do."

"I'm sure you do." she answered with a smirk.

As she turned her back, the big double doors that shielded the Council from the outside world opened, letting several important Foundation members out. Uffizi was the first to step outside of the chamber, followed by Higgans who was discussing with Teien something that seemed to be of extreme importance. Zhalia was only able to distinguish the words "dangerous" and "Organization". Neither of them was a good omen.

Metz, Guggenheim and Dante were the last ones to leave, their faces were worried and they clearly were discussing something as well. Maybe the same was Teien and Higgans? When Dante noticed Zhalia, he made a gesture calling her. She wondered why.

"Ah, Miss Moon." let Metz out, approaching his hand so she could shake it "It's a pleasure to see you."

"Sir." answered her, shaking his hand "It's been a while."

"How are you Zhalia?" asked Guggenheim.

"Fine, thanks. And you Guggenheim?"

"I've been better, but I'll let Dante explain to you. See you later!"

And with that, Metz and Guggenheim left the room together, still talking about the same thing."

Dante, what is going on?" she asked.

"There was a break-in." he explained "A break-in in the Professor's Castle."

**Casterwill Townhouse - Venice, Italy**

One year has passed since the Blood Spiral was defeated. Lok and Sophie entered in a Foundation's Sponsored University to take a degree in History and Mythology and, even if it was just a fake name to a far more intensive and profound course in Titans and Seeker adapted History, the irony was a cross Lok had to bear every day, especially since Sophie kept remind him of his poor performance in History classes. Their feats and achievements gave them a Doctor Honoris Causa title, meaning they were honorifically awarded the equivalent to a P.h.D. due to their work recovering several artefacts like the Amulet of Will, the Legendary Titans of Body and Spirit and the lost prophecies of Nostradamus, as well as his Scrying Glass.

For the entire world, they were simply going to college, taking classes, and then coming back. In fact, they spent their days doing research and visiting archaeological sites, looking for lost titans and recovering artefacts. Den and Harrison were legally under Lok's guard so, if they needed help, Lok would just bail them out of school so they could join in a particularly tricky mission. Zhalia would join often as well, but she was currently living between Venice and New York. She would help Dante and the Huntik Team with their needs and join missions she found interesting. But most of the time, she was in Manhattan.

Den and Harrison were attending to Venice Preparation Academy and living with Lok in his old dormitory until, for the "sake of convenience and logistics", Sophie proposed they all moved in with her to the Casterwill Townhouse in Venice. Lok was in the fencing room with Cherit, sparing with the talking Titan while Sophie was in her study overseeing the affairs that felt upon her as Head of the Casterwill Family.LeBlanche, Sophie's butler, knocked on the door of the fencing room, warning Lok that Den and Harrison had finally arrived.

He put his sword away and took his helmet off, going down to welcome them.

As he was going down the stairs to the Tea Room, he heard their voices far away.

"You think they go out and stuff while we're not here?" asked Den with a sarcastic tone in his voice.

"Nah." answered Harrison "They are just too sh-"

As he saw Lok, he shut his mouth. He didn't care about what they were talking about, he had to discuss other issues far more important.

"There you are." he said "I was starting to get worried."

"Don't." asked Den "It doesn't suit you."

"Very funny. But Dante wanted to talk to us and he said it was an emergency."

Sophie appeared behind him, coming down the stairs with Cherit.

"Is Dante on the line yet?" she questioned.

Lok opened his holotome in the centre table and tapped a few symbols. A couple of moments after, Dante's face appeared projected.

"Hey there Dante." greeted Den "How is Manhattan?"

"Not too lonely, we hope." completed Harrison with a smirk, which his brother copied.

Dante dismissed the comment, very well aware of what they were talking about.

"Lok, Sophie, Den, Harrison... There is no simple way to say this... We just got some alarming news from Prague. Grier has called our help to locate a series of stolen titans and artefacts from a group of rogue former operatives of the Organization."

"Wait, now we're working with them?" asked Lok "I mean, just a few months ago we were nemesis."

"Things have changed in the last weeks." explained him "Grier finally came back from Sutos and is commanding the Organization, against his will. But, sincerely, that is a good thing for us."

"It means the Organization is not going to try to sabotage the Foundation anymore, doesn't it?" asked Sophie "So, what is the emergency?"

"A group of fanatics separated from the Organization and founded a new group of seekers. They call themselves 'The Alliance', and they are this group that worships the Professor."

"Simon?" asked Lok "But he is lost in the Spirit World."

"And they think that they can bring him back." explained Dante."So, what's the mission?" asked Den."Zhalia is going to Prague to investigate the break-in with Grier. I suggest you do the same."

"Will you be coming?" asked Harrison "We could use your help."

"I'm sorry kid, I'm needed in the Council right now. We are trying to contain this and calm other minor seeker groups and factions within the Foundation itself. Putting out fires is more important and I'm sure you can deal with the situation on your own."

"Copy that Dante." confirmed Lok."Good luck." and he hanged up."Seekers, we have a mission." informed Lok, as a mission card began to be formed in middle air by the Holotome "The Alliance: locate and recover the artefacts stolen by the new group of seekers, the Alliance, and bring them to the Council for trial."

"I'll ask LeBlanche to reserve the tickets for Prague." informed Sophie.

"Meanwhile I'll call the Academy and bail you out of classes tomorrow."

"Thanks, Lo-"

"But we need to talk about your last school report." he threatened.

Den and Harrison glupped. They both failed the last math exam because they were on a mission in the Fawlk Islands the day before. And Lok wasn't aware they were going to have a test."Can you confirm that you're not going to have any exams in the following days?" he asked.

"Well..." Harrison began."In two weeks we'll have history..." continued Den.

Lok grabbed his mobile and called the school, telling Den and Harrison would most likely have to miss the following week of classes. The school year was about to end anyway.


	3. The Alliance: Episode 53 Part 2

**Professor's Castle - Prague, Czech Republic**

The Castle that once belonged to Simon Judeau rested in the top of a hill, looking at the city bowing at its feet. The late renaissance building made of white limestone was once the lair of the greatest seeker of their time. Now, it was abandoned and serving as the symbolic Head Quarters of the Organization, while the Central expanded under the city of Prague, like cancer in a human body.

The Organization operatives guarding the gates were instructed to let the Huntik Team pass. They walked into the main yard where once they fought battles. Eathon, the dog, was sitting with the guards, attentive to the moves of the guests, ready to attack with his full strength should one of them make a wrong move. Den wasn't able to look at the dog. He was too frightened. Last time they faced each other, it invoked two Undergolems that gave them a headache.

Grier, in his military vest, greeted Lok and Sophie. Commanding the guards to close the gate, he approached the team.

"So, Grier." began Lok "Can you tell us what artefacts were stolen?"

"I wish I could, but we're not certain yet." he explained "They attacked the Professor's private safe which wasn't completely catalogued. We have ideas of where they are or who they are, but not absolute conclusions yet."

"We'll take a look, don't worry." assured him "Just lead the way."

Grier turned his back and started walking towards the heart of the castle. It took a few minutes of going up staircases until they found the Professor's bedroom and the entrance to the safe, the very heart of the stronghold. The lavish bedroom where once the Professor slept every night, planning his moves so he could get his hands on the Amulet of Will, was now full of those who were once his enemies, looking for the lost artefacts. Grier approached one of the walls made of cobblestone and pressed one of the stones, which revealed to be a hidden button.

The wall where the button was hidden among the stones started showing a visible crack. The stones began to reorganize themselves and reveal a room made of metal and big enough to store massive amounts of amulets, artefacts and other similar objects.

"It..." stuttered Lok.

"It's empty!" stated Den "How the hell is it completely empty!?"

"That's what we've been trying to find out for the past week." explained Grier.

"Past week!?" shouted Sophie "The largest personal collection of titans in the world is on the wind for an entire week and you haven't communicated that information to anyone!?"

"They probably didn't want us overreacting about it." concluded Lok "I know the Foundation and the Organization have their attrition since ever, but this is next level Grier!"

"You are right." explained him "But we haven't called you because it was under control."

"Under control, huh?" mocked Harrison.

"We are aware this is a complex situation." he continued.

"Understatement." noted Zhalia, while examining the walls "But I am sure you have a good enough explanation to why it was stolen and by whom."

"As a matter of fact." he smiled, taking a Teknonomicon from hands of one of his operatives who brought it to him "We do."

He opened the Tome and turned on a projection of the entire room. In the hologram, the artefacts were still in place. But as the team was beginning to lose interest, a flash appeared. A big hole in the left side wall, big enough to let a group of seekers enter was opened. A man was seen entering, starting to put as many items as he could in a bag and throwing the bag to his colleagues on the other side of the hole. And he did it again, and again, and again. With the room finally empty, he passed the hole and cast a spell that repaired the wall to its original state.

"Findshape?" let Sophie go "That's a Casterwill spell."

"We believe they were able to access the Organization's spell database." explained Grier "The Professor had a relatively high amount of Casterwill spells in his files, including findshape."

"But that's a very complex spell to cast." explained Lok "Whoever that was, either was a Casterwill or was very close to the Professor."

"We suspect it is the latter." pointed him out. "So that leaves us guessing it was the work of the Alliance."

"Dante said something about them." remembered Den "Who are they?"

"A group of fanatics. After Wilder was deposed" Grier grinned "several groups of seekers within the Organization started creating factions. One of them was 'The Alliance for the Professor', commanded by Carl Thrane."

"Never heard of him." noted Zhalia "Is he new?"

"He was under the Professor himself, one of this personal bodyguards." kept him "He thinks he is the legitimate successor to the legacy of the Professor, and after the whole Wilder situation, he got support from several operatives. He ran out and created the Alliance."

"Any clues where they are?" asked Lok.

"Somewhere in the northwest part of the Iberian Peninsula, we suspect. Some communications were intercepted, they were talking in Portuguese and Galician."

"Then we are going to the Iberian Peninsula." concluded Lok "Just to be clear, are you interested in helping?"

"Of course, but we would require scouts."

"I see." let him out "We'll call once we land."

And with that, Lok turned his back and left the safe, followed by the team. As they walked away from the room through the halls of the Castle, Sophie wondered what was on Lok's mind, what was his plan.

Once they were outside, Lok took his phone and dialled a number. Once the line was connected, he greeted the person from the other side.

"John? You there?"

The sound was too faint for anyone else to understand what was the person on the other said, the said John, telling Lok.

"You still in Oporto? I could use your help. I need to find someone in that zone of the Iberian Peninsula."

A few more seconds of silence until he answered.

"I'm still not sure yet, I'll let you know when we land." and with that, he hanged up.

"I hope you have light clothes with you, it's hot in Oporto this time of the year."

**Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport - Oporto, Portugal**

Walking away from the airport, Lok asked Zhalia to get a taxi for the Foundation Hotel in the centre of the city, while Zhalia and Lok were trying to enter in contact with Lok's friend in town.

A few minutes later, the six of them were on their way to leave the luggage in the Foundation Hotel and meet Lok's friend. John was a Foundation operative working in the Lello Bookshop, one of the most important Foundation Operation centres in the Peninsula. As the taxi left them in front of the neogothic building, white and tall with several windows, they noticed it had a giant line to enter. Lok approached the security officer and showed him the amulet he had around the neck, his Kipperin, and the guard let him in.

The interior was covered in small details dug in the stone itself, with two giant shelves on either side, covering the entire walls. In the middle, a stair with a red carpet took them to the second level.

"So, what are we doing here again?" asked Zhalia.

"After Dante joined the Council and I became, for better and worst, the team leader, he told me I should build a contact network. So I did."

"That meaning?"

"That meaning I have a friend who works right here, one of the biggest repositories of seeker knowledge in the Peninsula. I also have one in Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona, Coimbra..." and kept naming cities of Iberia.

"And he can help us find the Alliance?" asked Den.

"I hope so."

John was a man in his twenties, with brown messed up hair and a thick beard. His dark eyes were quickly browsing toward the books in the cart to reorganize them. That day, it was his turn to work in the bookshop and not in the Foundation archives. He hated not working there.

"Hey John, long time no see." greeted Lok.

He lifted his eyes from the cart and looked at Lok. He smiled, putting the books on his hands back on their place.

"Lok, my dude." he greeted back "What brings you to this 'garden at the seaside planted'? I thought you guys were sent to Prague."

"So is it out already?" asked Sophie.

"Ah, Sophie Casterwill, isn't it?" asked John "John Thompson, nice to meet you. And yes, the break-in of the Professor's Castle is already known by everyone who isn't living under a rock."

"I think we can't blame the Organization for not telling us, after all..." breathed Zhalia "How are you, John?"

"Ah, Zhalia. Nice to see you."

"You know each other?" asked Sophie.

"When I infiltrated the Foundation, one of my first assignments was to join the London's Private Foundation Center. I met John and became his sponsor in exchange for a favour."

"Which she hasn't called in yet." noted him "And these two? Haven't seen them yet."

"These are Den and Harrison Fears, my two apprentices." explained Lok.

"Nice to meet you." he greeted "But back to the important fact: if you're looking for massive amounts of power being moved around here, I might have a clue for you."

"Really?" asked Lok "That would be a big help."

"Follow me."

The group followed him through a door that was labelled "authorised personnel only". The reserved area had piles of books, but not those you could buy on a regular library. Spellbooks, tomes from hundreds of years ago, artefacts recovered from sites close to the library... but everyone passed right through them. They were used to that kind of things, after all.

Walking through a second door, a far more organized smaller library with a desk in the middle. In it, several seekers were working each of them in their own holotome. John grabbed his own and sat in one of the vacant seats, opening a map of the city and its surroundings.

"After seeing what an army of seekers, like the one belonging to the Blood Spiral, is capable of, I've been working in a spell to detect massive amounts of power, magic energy irradiated from seekers, artefacts and amulets." he whispered to not bother his colleagues "I based myself in neverlost, the spell from the sceptre of Nefertiti."

"Klaus finally shared that information?" asked Sophie "That's what one year in the Foundation's prison does to you, I guess."

Zhalia was clearly bothered with the mention to Klaus, but she was able to dissimulate it well enough to trick most of the team. Only Sophie could see right through her. John kept explaining how the spell worked and pointed there has been a massive shift in magical power close to the border between Portugal and Galicia.

"So we're going there first." announced Lok "Could you send that power to Sophie's Cypherdex? It could be useful."

"Sure, I'm doing it right now." said John.

Once the transfer was complete, Lok called Grier saying they had a lead and that they were going to check it.

**Luso-Spanish Border, Northern Iberian Peninsula**

The hiking was beginning to tire the group, but Sophie kept assuring they were close to the source of the power. Lok volunteered himself to climb a small hill to try to locate a possible hideout. The only thing he saw was a farm, not far from their current position. It was better than nothing.

As they approached it, Sophie's Cypherdex started warning they were very close to the source of the power. They have found the Alliance's hideout.

"Now what?" asked Den "We call reinforcements?"

"Don't you want to explore it first?" asked Lok "What if it turnout and we're looking for another farm?"

"What another farm!?" complained " There's nothing here! Just kilometres and kilometres of vines and grasslands!"

"And hills..." remembered Harrison tyring to catch his breath "Don't forget the hills."

"I can check it out if you want." proposed Zhalia "I go in and out nobody will see me."

"Ok, but I'm coming with you." informed Lok "Just in case you need backup."

"Fair enough."

Cherit followed them to make sure there was no one on their way. As they kept moving apart, Den commented with Sophie.

"Does it bother you?"

"What?" asked Sophie "What are you talking about?"

"You are damn aware of what I'm talking about." answered him.

"Sophie, we know." explained Harrison "We know everything."

"And what we see."

"We ship."

Sophie began to blush, not knowing what to say. Was it that obvious? Turns out it was to Den and Harrison, but they assured Lok couldn't be less aware of her feelings.

While that, Zhalia, Lok and Cherit spotted guards patrolling the outer perimeter of the house in the centre of the farm, something that isn't the most common to see. Her certainty that they were in the right place only grew.

"I think we should use thoughtspecter if we want to keep on." informed Zhalia "Otherwise they might see us."

"Agreed. You should probably also evoke Gareon to protect our backs." proposed Lok.

"While you do that, I'll check the farm from above." said Cherit, rising into the sky and flying over the farm.

"Show yourself, Gareon!" she invoked, calling a small lizard-humanoid creature with the capacity to become invisible for a short amount of time "Thoughspecter!" she cast afterwards, covering her and Lok with a purple aura which faded almost immediately, leaving nothing behind.

As the two kept walking between the vines, voices and fragments of conversations began to arrive at their ears. The patrol was just a few meters away of them and, as they kept getting closer, they started understanding what those voices were saying.

"What I meant was: if this is just a decoy, why do we have to be here?" asked one of the guards.

"Isn't because Thrane commanded us a reason good enough?" proposed his companion "Just shut up and keep your guard up."

Zhalia touched Lok's arm, telling him there was nothing interesting there, but he was sceptical. From a strategic point of view, it was foolish to leave guards behind with a ton of common amulets just to mask their position. Something was there, he was sure of that. But what?

He kept walking, dodging the guards as he moved. Zhalia, thinking he was coming back with her, started making her path back. As they both grew apart, Lok's protection of thoughtspecter was starting to fade, until it broke apart completely. As he understood he was visible again, Lok found a hideout behind a pillar. Just a few more steps and he could reach the door to the inside of the house.

Calculating the position of the patrols, Lok was able to enter without being spotted, to find out it was, indeed empty.

 _"Damn it."_ he thought _"Where the hell is the source of the power?"_

It was when he spotted a small trapdoor in the middle of the single division house. Checking for guards, he started moving quietly to the trapdoor. He was about to open it when he heard:

"Halt! Who's that!?

He felt a chill going done his spine. He had to be quick.

"Hyperstride!" he cast, giving him an energy boost that made him be able to jump "Spidertoutch!" he then said, making a magic web from his left hand, holding himself in the roof.

Surprised, the Suit didn't think twice and ran to the centre of the room, entering in Lok's range of sight.

"Touchram!" he cast, creating a green energy bolt from his right hand which was launched extremely fast in the Suit's direction. It was able to press him against the floor so hard the old cobblestone gave in and broke apart, revealing a room underneath it.

Lok spotted a light down there, somewhere under the rubble. He cast feather drop to land safely and started examining the place. While he was busy there, the sound of the floor giving in alerted both the suits and the team in the outside. Zhalia, Sophie, Den and Harrison ran into the farm while Cherit was busy knocking a Suit out with his energy blast.

"Cherit!" called Sophie "Where's Lok?"

"No idea." he said "Perhaps he's inside. The sound seemed to come from there."

"Sophie and Den, go. Harrison and I hold the fort outside." explained Zhalia, throwing an augerfrost at a Suit, missing by a few centimetres.

"Strike them, Hitokiri!" shouted Harrison, calling his titan Hitokiri to battle to fight alongside Gareon and Cherit.

Sophie and Den took the opening to kick the door open and jump into the hole in the ground caused by Lok's touchram. Lok was in the middle of the chaotic scene, the suit was still knocked out not far from him. But there was a pile of rubble in the middle that didn't' seem natural.

"Bubblelift!" he cast, trying to move the biggest rocks out of the way without success.

"Want some help?" asked Sophie.

"Yeah, if you don't mind." he answered with a smile.

Den examined the pile. It seemed something was underneath the layer of rubble. But what?

"Dragonfist!" cast Den, breaking some of the stone into dust and making a small opening reveal a blue crystal.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Lok.

"Another Nexus..." babbled Sophie, yet processing the information.

"W-what is a Nexus?" asked Den.

"A gateway." explained Lok "A gateway to Huntik."

Back in the surface, Zhalia and Harrison were beginning to loose terrain. Gareon was already back in his amulet and Cherit was too tired to keep fighting.

"You got any more titans?" asked Harrison, as Hitokiri was defeated.

"I hoped I could save some power, but given the circumstances..."

"Same..." and looking in his bag, Harrison finally found what he was looking for "Make them tremble, Antedeluvian!" he shouted, invoking the Vampire-titan Antedeluvian in its powerbonded form.

"Manifest, Gar-Ghoul!" called Zhalia, invoking the Gargoyle-like titan capable of spitting water at a giant pressure.

The new batch of titans was ready to fight the two Redcaps and Mindrone that were called by the suits.

"You ready?" asked Zhalia.

"For?"

"This." and at that moment she came out of cover "Shadowspeed!"

Running through the battlefield at an inhuman speed, Zhalia dodged several attacks and the three titans in the enemy frontline, attacking one of the suits from behind "Mindsight." her eyes flashed a violet light, as Zhalia became able to see her opponent's next move.

Harrison was impressed with the demonstration of power by Zhalia. He intended to not let her down.

"Cutrace!" he screamed, as his spell impulsed him forward "Double spell! Dragonfist!" he then cast, hitting right on both redcaps, as Gar-Ghoul and Antedeluvian took care of the Mindrone.

The left Redcap was sent back to its amulet, but the right one was still able to fight, so he used his claws to attack Harrison.

"Stormshield!" he shouted at the last moment, protecting himself from the attack "Antedeluvian, now!" and, as he ordered through the bond, his titan attacked with his sword defeating the titan.

As he looked, Zhalia was done playing with the Suits who were now running for their lives, probably reporting back to Thrane. Bad luck.

"Should we check on them?" asked Harrison.

Zhalia nodded and walked to the door. As she opened it, she spotted Sophie, Den and Lok trying to unbury the Nexus.

"Is that a...?"

"Yup." confirmed Sophie "One hundred per cent certain, we found another Nexus!"

"Oh, God..." she breathed "We should call Dante and report this."

"Agreed." said Lok, leaving Sophie and Harrison cleaning the Nexus free from the rubble. As he took his backpack, he started looking for his holotome. In less than nothing, he found what he was searching. Opening it and typing a few numbers, Lok called Dante.

"Hello there, Lok." Dante's voice said "How have you being since our last chat yesterday?"

"Well, we haven't found the artefacts yet, but we found something far better."

"Do tell."

Lok stepped away from Dante's line of sight, revealing the Nexus half unburied. Dante's face turned from a puzzled expression into a wide smile.

"Good job Lok." congratulated Dante "I'll report this to the Council right away."

"Yeah, and we'll need at least a dozen Foundation operatives here protecting and studying this. Sophie believes that the Nexus might be intact."

"More than that." continued her, approaching the Tome while cleaning her hands of her pants "I think the Alliance was studying it, probably to try to make contact with the Professor. If that is true, they probably had to bring one of his belongings to here to try to establish a connection, which means that they must be close."

"I'll make sure to get you a team there." assured Dante "Meanwhile, gather as much data as you can and I'll call you back in an hour with the ETA of the Foundation Operatives, got it?"

"Sure thing, Dante." confirmed Lok "Call us when you have news."

And closing the Tome, Lok looked back at the team. They were all waiting for instructions.

"Who wants to dig up a big, giant, glowing stone?"


	4. Sins of a Father: Episode 54 Part 1

**Lambert House - County Kerry, Ireland  
**

One could argue that western Ireland was just the same as the rest of Ireland, but that isn't true. For starters, County Kerry is the ancestral home of the Lamberts.

Eathon and Sandra Lambert had their two children, Cathy and Lok Lambert, in their house in the County, and the four of them lived there happily until the mysterious disappearance of Eathon. A few years later, Cathy started attending College in Dublin and Lok went for Venice to study, while Sandra was alone at home most of the year, except the time of holidays when the three of them reunited to celebrate. Last Christmas, however, Lok brought Den and Harrison with him. Sandra looked at them as her own children or, more accurately, grandchildren, while Cathy kept looking at them as some sort of uncommon type of cousins-brothers-nephews. But, no matter how unnatural that family looked like, it was functional. And, even if on Christmas eve Lok was busy attending to Casterwill festivities as the Champion of the family, on December 25th he and Sophie landed on County Kerry in their Foundation plane, ready to celebrate.

Cathy and Sandra knew why they invited Sophie, even if Lok seemed to be unaware of it. In fact, Lok was unaware of most things. How Den and Harrison started seeing him as a father figure, how Sophie kept getting emotionally closer to him, and how his family was perfectly on-board with those new and exciting additions to the household.

The other time of year the Lamberts and friends reunited in County Kerry was the Summer. Although not near as hot as Venice was, the Irish coast was able to deliver acceptable weather for its guests, even if the guests are only Cathy.

Used to a little more cold and a lot less rain back in Dublin, Cathy felt at home in Lambert's house, particularly in the days she slept until late, forgetting the passage of time as if she could sleep forever in her childhood bed and return to the active life whenever her batteries were fully recharged.

Lying on her bed, Cathy was still asleep, recovering from the tiresome nights of study she had on the past few months. Her decision to exile herself was one of her best ones yet, getting her time to relax and recover her strength.

As Cathy's uncombed blond hair covered her face, she woke up with an itchy nose. It was no good to get back to sleep now, the better she could do was to go downstairs and help her mother.

Putting on her slippers and wearing her robe, Cathy started going down the old wooden steps of the house. Thinking it was still very early in the morning, she made her best to remain as silent as she could to not wake her mother. However, in no time she heard the radio playing a song and the announcer giving his comments on the music.

"Good afternoon, sweaty." said her mom with a grin.

"Aftern-" she began, before understanding the meaning of the word "Oh..."

"Yeah, you did sleep like a baby tonight." continued Sandra, mocking her child a little longer while washing the dished from last night's meal "I saved you some breakfast, or we could just go right into lunch if you want."

"Nah, I'll have the breakfast, thank you." and she opened the door of the fridge, fetching a carton of juice, bacon, eggs and butter to make her toast. Warming his bacon and eggs while the toast was still in the making, Cathy noticed her mother leave the kitchen and unlocking the door to her father's old office. As she entered, the toast popped out of the toaster and the bacon was medium rare, as she liked it. Managing her breakfast, when Cathy looked back her mum was already outside the office, coming back to the kitchen. However, Cathy could swear the door was left unlocked, which left her wondering why was it locked in the first place.

"So." reintroduced Sandra "What are you up to today?"

Her thoughts were interrupted by her mother's question. She took a few moments to remind herself of where she was and what the question was about, but once it was done she answered.

"I'm not sure yet. Is Scarlet in town? I haven't seen her in a while."

"I don't think she is, sweety." she told to her daughter "Although I saw that boy from town, Mark, the other day. He's really sweet and nice, mayb-"

"Mum, I don't need a boyfriend."

Sandra shrugged, letting her daughter choose her own path in life. It was hers, after all. Once she was done with the breakfast, the two of them cleaned the kitchen and then Cathy returned upstairs.

In her bedroom, she saw her reflection in the mirror hanged up in the wall. She saw her own face, eyes, nose, mouth, and hair. The hair was growing longer every day. She could use a haircut, but then again, she only trusted one hairdresser and he was all the way back in Dublin. Once she was back, she'd take care of it. For now, she had other concerns. The order of the day was to do nothing.

And yet, the idea of her father's office being unlocked was still in her mind. She couldn't understand why she never noticed that her mother always locked her father's study. What was in there that she didn't want them to know?

Aware that her mum was most likely outside doing the laundry, Cathy seized the opportunity to try to enter the office. As she went down the stairs, each stepped seemed to make such an infernal noise, as if they were calling her mother back inside.

 _"I just wish these steps would stop making noise for once."_ she thought.

She didn't notice back then but, as she thought that, the steps went silent. The door was indeed unlocked. Carefully so the door didn't make too much noise, Cathy was able to break into the office. The room seemed to be calling for her, as if a higher power, something of a mystical nature desired her in that room. She couldn't explain the feeling, only feel it.

The office per se wasn't anything but ordinary. It had a window non the wall opposite to the door, where the green fields of Ireland could be seen. On her left, a bookshelf filled with books, parchments, maps, tubes of documents and diagrams. Over it, there was a shelf with several objects of exotic nature which purposes were beyond Cathy's comprehension. On the right, exactly in front of her, her father's desk, made of soft dark wood, full of documents, pens and other artefacts, could be seen.

But, the most interesting item in the collection was nonother than a package, landed in the place someone would put a sheet of paper to write in if sat on the desk, made of grey paper, and tied with a string. Cathy sat, picking the package with her hands. On it was drawn a strange symbol, a collection of risks and lines with a strange shape, something like "कॅथी". But Cathy knew she saw it before. The question was... where?

**Lambert House - County Kerry, Ireland, 15 years ago  
**

It was fifteen years ago, in that very place. Lok, still a baby, cried in their mum's arms while Cathy hid in dad's office. He was about to arrive from India, in no time. It was going to happen at any moment now... Any moment...

Her mum kept saying that dad was almost arriving, but it took hours until someone knocked at the door. Sandra, with Lok on her arms, ran to the door and checked through the spyglass who was the man outside. It was no other than the mythical Eathon Lambert, her husband. 

"Oh darling, I missed you." she said, kissing him on the lips.

He kissed her too, making little Lok jealous and starting to cry. Dad quickly grabbed one of his most precious possessions in the world in his arms and tried to calm him down. 

"Oh, Lok." he said "Don't cry. I'm here, I'm finally home."

But it was useless. Lok was crying with all his strength. He wanted to be kissed as well, but his father couldn't guess it, could he? He apparently could because, after looking at the baby for a while, he kissed him, and Lok stopped crying. As if he used magic to guess what his son wanted.

"Where is Cathy?" asked he "I have a present for her."

"Oh, you have a present for her but not for me?" teased Sandra.

"Who told you that?" teased him back.

Cathy giggled, hiding behind the door of dad's office. He would never guess where she was.

"Hey Cathy!" he called "I have something for you!"

"You need to find me!" she said "Do it as you do with your treasures, daddy!"  
He smiled. He started following the sound of her voice, turning now and then in the wrong direction just for the fun of it. He knew she was somewhere in his office, so he avoided getting too close.

"If I don't find you, maybe I'll have to give the present to Lok." he joked.

Cathy quickly ran out of hiding, saying that she was there and that she could receive the present, even if daddy didn't find her without her help. Eathon and Sandra laughed with their trickster, their little girl. How could you not love someone like her?

"Can you guess what I brought?" asked he.

"Hmmm..." thought Cathy "An elephant!"

He laughed once again and answered that an elephant was too big to fit on the baggage. So, Cathy kept guessing, all the ideas that a child could have of presents. But, after some time, she gave up, and so did her father. He opened his backpack and took a board made of clay with an inscription.

"This, Cathy, is your name in Marati, one of India's languages."Cathy looked at the doodles inscribed in the clay. She couldn't understand anything from it.

"If I ever need to tell you something secret, I'll draw this in the message." he said "So only you can read it."

It would take fifteen years, but Cathy would, one day, get a message with that symbol. A message that was for her eyes, and her eyes only.

**Lambert House - County Kerry, Ireland**

The package was sitting there, waiting to be opened. Cathy wasn't sure she wanted to know what lied beneath the wrapped paper. Her hesitation led to a long intervale in which her mother returned inside. She heard the main door shut and her mother scream.

"Cathy!" she shouted "Cathy! Are you in your room?"

As she heard the steps make noise, she put the package under her arm and sprinted out of the study into the bathroom. She panicked for a minute, wondering where she would hide the package. The medicine cabinet was the best option. It wouldn't completely close, but she just needed her mother to stop looking for her.

Once it was decently hidden, Cathy answered to the summoning.

"In the bathroom!" she shouted, "What's up?"

Her mother opened the door of the bathroom and she pretended to be washing her hands.

"Your brother is coming today, just a heads up." she told her.

"Alone or with someone?"

"Alone." she answered "This time."

Cathy thanked for the information and resumed to scrub her hands fiercely. Once her mother left the bathroom, she dried them and got the package out. She looked at the pages of an old newspaper used to make the package. There was something hard inside, but what was it? Her curiosity was killing her.

Carefully to not make too much noise, Cathy started tearing the package apart, revealing what was its contents. It was a frame with a picture inside. A picture of her and her father. Cathy felt the need to weep but controlled herself. As she was going to stand, she heard the sound of something hard falling in the ground. She bent over to see what was it. It was a necklace like the one Lok used.

She felt a weird sensation as if the necklace was calling her, desiring her to touch it. A cold feeling expanded through her being, impregnating her body with a shiver through her spine. She heard voices in her head, voices saying something she couldn't understand. Or could she? What was it that the voices were saying? Was it a sound? Was it a name? She could only hear that little whisper telling her to grab the necklace, telling her a secret, the name she should say out loud.

Jirworlf

Trembling, she used her hand to reach for the amulet. It was just a few centimetres apart. She could do it. Or could she? Why was it so hard? As she finally touched the amulet of Jirwolf, Cathy saw the world turn quickly and felt like if she was falling. She started seeing flashes. The night sky. A full moon. A valley. A Castle. A Castle in the sky? She then saw a figure. Someone. It was definitely a human being, but it wasn't as if he was in front of her. More like he was a reflection in a mirror. But that wasn't her. That was a man.

That was her father.

She then opened her eyes and felt on her back, sitting on the toilet once again. She still had her head spinning, as if she had a blackout. What were those visions?

The amulet was back on the floor. Cathy should have dropped it without noticing. But she was frightened, she didn't want to touch it again. But her father... It felt so real. She needed to see him again.

She reached out for the amulet a second time, frighted of what vision she could have. But as she touched it, nothing happened. The amulet felt cold to the touch, inert.

What was going on?


	5. Secrets of Tír na nÓg: Episode 54 Part 2

**Venice Marco Polo Airport - Venice, Italy** ****

Lok was on his way to Ireland to spend a few days in County Kerry. He told everyone that he was just going on a little vacation after two weeks of unsuccessful searched in Galicia and Oporto for the Alliance. They seem to have vanished.

Zhalia was going to take Den and Harrison for a week in the Netherlands. It would be a good opportunity for them to visit the city and grow some experience with a skilled seeker. Sophie was going to New York to oversee the reconstruction of the Cloisters. Focauld was trying to rebuild his relationship with Sophie, which was heavily damaged during the war against the Blood Spiral. This was his way to ask for a truce.

And Lok? Lok was going for Ireland. Cherit was with him, but apart from the old titan, he was alone. Since he was now an adult, he had to take care of a massive amount of paperwork relative to his father's disappearance - it was over ten years ago, so he was considered dead by the Irish authorities, even if he was stuck in Huntik alive and with good health - so Lok was entitled to a sixth of his patrimony - with half and a sixth belonging to his mother and another sixth to his sister - and several other necessary documents. Besides, she needed to talk to his mother and ask for advice in this situation. Who knows? Maybe Scarlet was in town and she could give her two cents as well.

Lok was already boarding on his plane. After showing his passport and plane ticket - the Foundation wouldn't let him use the jet this time - he crossed the passage to the plane where the air hosts greeted him and showed him his seat. 

He looked at his watch. It was seven in Venice, which means it was six in County Kerry. The fight would take two hours and a half, and he'd be there at eight, local time, in Dublin. Then another hour from Dublin to the Kerry airport and he would be at home with her mother and sister by ten. His mother would most likely have a warm dinner for him. His sister would be asking for how going to university in Venice is like, they would trade stories. Then, he would let Cherit out in the night so he could stretch his wings. When Cathy went to bed, he and his mother could talk and he could ask for the advice he needed. The expertise of a mother and a seeker to help him sort his entire life.

Cherit peeked outside of the bag. No one was looking at them, so it was safe to talk. 

"What on your mind, Lok?" he asked.

"It's just that..." he began "This is the first important mission under my command, and I'm screwing it." 

"No you're not!" he argued "I mean, you found one of the Alliance's bases, a Nexus, and you're making progress on where their Head Quarters might be. I wouldn't say that is screwing it."

"Dante would have found it already..." he muttered. 

"But would have he found the Nexus?" questioned the titan "I wouldn't be so sure. Finding the meaning of things that seem irrelevant to others is your expertise."

Lok patted Cherit. The gargoyle-like titan was always able to make him feel better. He then leaned back and slept for the rest of the trip. 

**Irish Countryside - County Kerry, Ireland**

Cathy didn't take more than a few minutes of research to find the meaning of her visions. Typing on Google 'Ireland', 'Flying Castle' and 'Moon' gave her all the answers she needed. She was looking for Tír na nÓg. 

She put the amulet on her neck and warned her mum she was going for a walk. It was eight and the sun was about to set. Perfect timing.

She arrived at the valley where the supposed castle of Tír na nÓg was. A cloud was covering the moon, so she saw nothing. But then, the wind started blowing. The clouds in the sky started moving and she began to see a few beams of moonlight starting to reach the surface of Earth. In a few moments, the entire moon could be seen with a clarity beyond explanation. And in the horizon, an island started appearing, hovering above Earth. A castle could be seen. It was Tír na nÓg, the legendary castle in the sky.

Cathy was trying to process the fact that a castle just appeared in front of her. A floating castle. She knew somehow that she had to go to the top. But how?

She touched the amulet with her hand once again, asking for guidance. But nothing happened. As she was about to lose hope, she started seeing unexplainable phenomenons. Space and time started deforming around her, as the castle appeared to get closer. It was so low she could jump from the ground to the island without much trouble. As she did it, she felt her ears pop with the difference of pressure. When she looked back, she was at least two hundred meters above the ground. How in the world!?

Cathy was starting to feel anxious. Her palms were getting sweaty and her heartbeat was increasing dramatically. She kept moving forward, always attentive to the moon. If it started to disappear or a cloud got in the away, she would have no choice but to run.

"Common, father." she asked "Help me understand what's going o-"

At the moment she lost concentration, a cloud got in the way of the moon, and its translucid form made the moonlight behave strangely. A hole right under Cathy started to open and she felt through it. She started screaming by the reaction, trying to reach the border of the surface. She thought she was falling back on Earth. She closed her eyes in fear. She felt herself falling faster and faster. The air was passing through her body smoothly. Her hair was floating on the same plane as her. It was a nice sensation, the sensation of letting everything go, letting the universe do its magic. It took Cathy a few more moments to understand that she wasn't falling. She was standing still, on the ground, so black that she couldn't see it.

"What the actual..."

The voices here back, whispering for her, calling her, showing her a path. But where did that path lead? Cathy wasn't sure, but she knew that, wherever it was, her father was there. She had the feeling that he was so close, and yet so far. Could it be that, after thirteen years, the mystery of Eathon Lambert's disappearance was going to be solved, once and for all? Was he there, trapped in that place? And, if he indeed was, was Cathy?

The Interdimensional Space between Earth and the Spirit World, Huntik, was a place hidden in somewhere between time and space. Albert Einstein, who was a well-known seeker, wrote extensively about the mechanics of that part of reality. How two worlds, concealed by each other, could be connected even if light-years apart. Those connections, usually called Einstein-Rosen Bridges, were known to the seekers as Nexus. A week point in the fabric of reality, which enables one to travel across billions, maybe trillions of kilometres in fractions of a second.  
Of course, Cathy was unaware of all that.

She held Jirwolf's amulet tightly, scared and excited of everything. She didn't understand any of it, but she knew she was where she was meant to be. Fate brought her there, to that strange and marvellous place. And she was going to find answers in there.

One way or the other.

**Lambert House - County Kerry**

Lok's back was killing him, but he was able to drag himself off the taxi and knock at the door of her mother's house. Sandra opened it and greeted her son with the warmth of a mother. The two were happy to see each other. But Lok felt something was off.

"W-Where is Cathy?" he asked.

Sandra looked back. She was nowhere to be seen. Approaching the stairs, she called for her daughter. Maybe she was in her room. Maybe in the bathroom? Definitely somewhere on the garden. Or maybe she was out, in town?

"Did you check dad's office?" asked Lok.

"W-What?" she asked back "Why would she be there? And how for that matter? You know I leave it locked so she doesn't find the artefacts of your father."

"I have a feeling."

As Sandra unlocked the door, the surprise hit her face. Someone was in the office, she was sure of it. There was supposed to be a package on the desk, a package she didn't know what contained. Lok asked if she was sure she didn't put it somewhere else, but she assured it was there.

In Lok's head, pieces started making sense.

One, Cathy was inside the office, probably took something from it.

Two: there were still amulets of his father that were never found and, out of respect, he didn't search his office for them.

Three: it was a full moon, Tír na nÓg was visible.

Four: in Tír na nÓg, it is possible to communicate with the Spirit World.

Five: damn you, Cathy.

**Interdimensional Space - Uncertain Location**

Cathy knew she was getting somewhere. The exact nature of that "somewhere" was, however, still a mystery to her.

The voices she was hearing were getting louder, more real. As if previously, they were just in her head. But now? Now she could hear them for real. But what were they saying? If only she could get a little closer.

In a few minutes, Cathy began to see something on the dark horizon. She wasn't able to identify. It could be a person or a pillar or... a mirror?

Approaching the artefact, Cathy began to examine it. It was, indeed, a mirror. However, she wasn't able to see her reflection. In fact, she was seeing someone else.

The messy dirty blond hair, the strong moustache, the blue eyes like her own. The man... The man could only be one.

"D-dad?" she muttered, not believing her eyes.

Eathon Lamber could be seen in the face of the mirror. His eyes grew big as he saw her daughter.

"Cathy?" he asked, with a voice that seemed coming out of a speaker "Is that you?"

"Yes..." she said with tears in her eyes "It's me, dad. Where are you?"

Eathon's face hardened. He didn't have faith that his daughter would ever become a seeker. He had planned to give her an amulet when she was younger, but as she grew older, he seemed her potential weaken.

And yet, here she was.

"Cathy, there is a lot to explain, and I fear I have not enough time to explain everything."

"What is going on, dad?" she asked "What is all of this?"

"This." he began "Is all magic."

"Magic?" she muttered "What do you mean with magic?"

"A long time ago, a terrible threat came to Earth to destroy it. To defend it, a man forged artefacts called amulets and brought creatures to help defend our planet. They were the titans. The magic from the planet those creatures came started leaking to Earth, giving some human beings the ability to manipulate that magical energy. Those people are called seekers."

"So... you are a seeker?" she concluded.

"Yes, Cathy. I am a seeker." he answered "And, if I'm not mistaken, so are you."

"Wha-"

"You found it, didn't you?" he asked "You found my amulet."

She took from her pocket Jirwolf's amulet. With the excitement of finding her dad, she totally forgot it. She held the little necklace in her hand, showing it to her dad.

"Yes..." he breathed "I wanted to give it to you on your eighth birthday, but your mother talked me out of it. She said that you weren't ready."

"Am... am I ready now?" she asked "To understand?"

He looked at her. His eyes were deep, full of pride for his daughter. She was grown, and she was grown into someone with the capacity to become a powerful seeker.

"Yes." he answered "That, is Jirworlf. When you touched the amulet, your latent powers were awakened. Your awakening probably made you see and do things you thought were impossible."

Cathy remembered the time-space shifting, letting her jump several hundred meters without any difficulty. Was that it? Was that being a seeker?

"I... I remember... I felt it."

"You have to find your mother, she will be able to explain to you better than I can ri- -ow"

"Dad?"

"I'm lo- -nal. You mus-"

"Dad, I can't understand you!"

"Jirworlf! Cal- Jiorwolf!"

"Dad!"

"I love you, Ca- -y! I'll always lo-"

And the image faded away. Eathon Lambert went back into the darkness, not leaving a single clue where he was. The only thing he said was to talk to her mother.

That, and to call Jirwolf.

"Ok... let's give it a try..." she muttered.

Picking up the amulet, she rose it in the air, concentrating everything she had into it.

"Materialize, Jirwolf!"

The amulet started glowing, from it, some sort of gas or plasma started leaking, slowly forming a being in front of her.

It was a wolf with dark blue fur, covered with stellar-like light. It ran in the air, landing near Cathy. Inside her mind, she heard a deep voice, asking her for the next command.

Cathy was impressed with the titan. After contemplating it for a bit, she asked.

"Can you help me get out?"

The titan answered positively through the bond. After a few moments, Jirwolf turned back and, in front of it, time and space started shifting, creating a hole in it just big enough for Cathy to pass and return to Tír na nÓg.

**Tír na nÓg - County Kerry**

Using Powerbonded Kipperin's ability to wing-fuse - which means, becoming a full armour with flight capabilities to his seeker - Lok carried his mother on his arms from their house to the valley where Tír na nÓg was, while Cherit flew right at their side. As they expected, the castle was visible.

Landing on the Castle's yard, Lok and Sandra assumed defensive positions. Theoretically, Kipperin shouldn't trigger the Castle's defences as it was invoked outside of its perimeter, but they were still cautious.

"You see her?" asked Lok to his mother.

Sandra made a negative sign. The two kept looking and calling for Cathy was they walked through the castle. As they were starting to relax, since no defensive measures were taken by the Castle, the mother-son duo heard heavy steps in the corridor in front of them.

"W-what?" babbled Sandra.

In front of them, a copy of the former protector of Tír na nÓg, Firbolg, blocked their way. On their tails, a copy of Dullahan appeared as well. They were surrounded.

"It's Firbolg!" screamed Cherit "And it looks angry!"

"Did you use any powers?" asked Lok.

"No. Which means..."

"Cathy did." concluded him "But how?"

Not too far, Cathy stepped out of the hole in the fabric of reality created by Jirwolf. She heard the heavy steps of the titans, far away.

"W-what is happening?" she asked to Jirworlf.

He didn't answer, but took defensive positions and began to scout the terrain. As the duo moved, they quickly found Firbolg. But she heard someone else. She heard her mother and Lok.

"Touchram!" cast Lok, trying to keep Dullahan busy.

"Raypulse!" shouted Sandra, hitting Firbolg.

But the titan quickly shifted its attention to Cathy, now in the line of sight. She screamed in fear - after all, who wouldn't the first time a ten tons giant stared at you? - which made Sandra realize her daughter was in danger.

"Answer my call, Solar, Lunar!" she called, evoking the two titans, Solar and Lunar, the two fairies with the power to control the sun and the moon.

Solar began attacking Firbolg, while Lunar and Sandra quickly ran to shield Cathy. Jirworlf took part in the offensive against Firbolg, while Lok evoked Ironsquire to help him and Cherit contain Dullahan.

"M-mom?" she asked "What is going on!?"

"No time to explain" replied her mother "Lok! I got her."

"Coming!" he screamed "Cherit, I could use a power-up!"

Cherit used his energy boost to charge Lok with extra energy. He then aimed his hand at Dullahan.

"Boltflare!"

The projectile hit the titan right on its face. The powerful boltflare disoriented the titan and caused severe damage to the structure of the Castle. It would regenerate once it disappeared in the day.

And flying away from the scene, Lok, grabbed Cathy and his mother, quickly getting out of Tír na nÓg.

***

"Can any of you explain to me what the hell is going on!?" asked Cathy.

Lok, Sandra, Cathy and Cherit - who remained quiet for the entire time - were back in the Country House. In the living room, the truth was about to be told to Cathy. In full.

"Sweety... This is... complicated to explain." she began.

"We are what we call 'seekers'." continued Lok "People that can use magic and evoke creatures called 'titans'." standing up, he started walking around, making gestures with his hands, remembering how Dante explained everything to him when he first found out the seeker world "A long time ago, creatures from the cosmos came to Earth to destroy it. They were called the Nullifiers."

"Yes, dad told me." she explained.

"Y-you talked to dad?" asked Lok.

"Somewhere in the Castle, there was a place very dark with a mirror in it. I was able to talk to dad in there."

"The Interdimensional Space." concluded Lok "That place is between our world and the place titans come from: Huntik."

"I'm sorry, but, whatever this is, I don't want to be a part of it." said Cathy "I didn't ask for any of this, I asked for my dad." she looked at Lok "Our dad. The dad we didn't have when we were growing up."

"Cathy, you can't simply walk away." said Sandra "We tried to hold this for a long time."

"Yeah, I figured out that you didn't want me to know." shot her "Right about the same time I saw my younger brother knowing all this-"

"Cathy..." tried to say her mom.

"-and now, I was pulled into it as well. Dad told me everything. How you talked him out of letting me know everything."

"We made a decision, damn it!" shouted her.

The room went silent. Lok and Cathy looked at Sandra. She was about to cry and yet her old, cavernous eyes.

"It wasn't supposed for you to find out. Neither of you!" she kept going "Since the day Lok came with his friends from the Foundation, all of them seekers, I knew it was a matter of time until you found out too!"

"You mean, Dante, Sophie, Zhalia..."

"And Ben, and Harrison." kept going Lok "Heck, even Scarlet."

He quickly repented saying that last part, as Cathy's face began again angry. Everything she thought she knew, everything she was used to...

Gone. And for what?

She took the amulet from her pocket. Looking at it, Cathy knew exactly what she had to do to restore normality.

"Take this." she said to Lok "You're better qualified to use it than I am anyway."

"Cathy, I can't."

"Yes you can." she insisted "You accept it or I'll destroy it."

"Cathy, you don't understand." explained Lok "I actually can't. It is yours now. Jirwolf bonded with you."

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"It means you have no option, sweety." explained her mother still trying to contain her tears "You are already a seeker, and nothing we can do can change that fact."

Cathy looked to the amulet once again. No matter how confusing it all was, that thing granted her the only wish she made for thirteen years. To see her father once again.

"Will... will this get our father back?" she asked Lok.

"It will surely help a lot." he confirmed.

She looked at her brother. His eyes were confident of what his mouth was saying. She looked at her mother. She clearly didn't want to, but she knew she had no other choice.

To see her mother like that broke Cathy apart. She didn't want to do this. But, if like she was being told, she had no other choice...

"Where do we start?" she asked.


	6. The Apprentice: Episode 55 Part 1

**Casterwill Townhouse - Venice, Italy**

"Raypulse!" shouted Den, purposefully missing Cathy by a few centimetres.

Cathy, Harrison, and Den were in the training room in the Townhouse practising. Sophie was in her study a few rooms away. Lok and Zhalia on the other hand were out in official business for the Foundation. He left the brothers specifically assigned to the task of helping Cathy train.

"Boltflare!" pronounced Cathy carefully, hoping that something would finally happen. But no ball of magical light appeared in her hand, giving her something to throw back at Den and Harrison who - upon her request - were attacking her with all they got.

"We can stop if yo-" tried to say Harrison.

"Shut up and hit me." replied Cathy, threatening.

The boys would have joked about the sentence if they weren't scared of her reaction to any comment. Due to a moment of illumination, Harrison had an idea. He pointed his hand carefully at Cathy's sweatpants and muttered boltflare. A ball of very hot light travelled through the air, setting the bottom part of her pants on fire.

As she smelt burning cloth, she quickly jumped and tried to put the fire out. Looking back at Harrison with a thirst for blood, Cathy pointed her hand and said again "boltflare". While not perfect, a small sparkle jumped from her palm, creating a tiny ball of fire she threw at his hair.

"See?" put Den "You can do i-"

At that moment, he noticed a similar ball of fire coming in his way. He was able to dodge it just in time.

"That's for trying to set my pants on fire." she accused "And this?"

A new ball of fire, bigger than the ones before, spawned in her hand, making her more threatening than before.

"This one is for fun." she said smirking. She threw the ball and, as it flew across the room, Den prepared his response.

"Augerfrost!" he said, throwing a ball of ice at the projectile.

As the two spells collided, Cathy's smile grew. She was now more comfortable using Boltflare and, if Lok kept his word, he'd soon teach her something more powerful.

"I guess you're now ready for the next part of our training." said Harrison, trying to put out the small flame in the hair of his forehead "What do you say we try to bring a titan or two into the mix?"

Cathy put her hand in the pocket and pulled Jirwolf's amulet out. She didn't try to evoke him again since the day she found out about the Seekers.

"Wow!" warned Den "Before you do that, I have a gift for you."

He approached Cathy and gave her an amulet of a Freelancer. The same amulet that Lok gave him the former year.

"I guess it is tradition to give the newbie this one." said Den as he handed the titan.

"But isn't it bonded with you?" asked Cathy "I thought a titan could only bond with one person at a time?"

"Well, you can give titans away if you want." explained Harrison "You have to release him from the bond. It is a bit complex, no one is completely sure how it works. But we did it right." he assured "I hope."

"What if you didn't?" asked Cathy, reluctant.

"Then I guess all of Venice is going to be turned into a big stain." joked Harrison.

Not sure if he was being serious, Cathy took the titan and felt the same warm feeling she had with Jirwolf. A vision of the titan being evoke in that very room filled her mind. And then a voice whispered in her ear.

Freelancer.

"Charge Freelancer!" she shouted, evoking the Draco-Titan Warrior Freelancer.

A man one and a half times taller than them appeared in front of them, wearing a suit of armour that looked made of some alien metal, and yet somehow familiar. The blueish colour of her armour, shield and weapon was already familiar to Den, but Cathy looked at it astonished.

"And the fight resumes!" announced Harrison "Strike them, Hitokori!" he called, evoking his titan.

"Show yourself, Kaioh the Tracker!" screamed Den as well.

Hitokiri, the Oni in Samurai armour, landed in front of Freelancer. Kaioh, the plantoid human tracker with a long green vine, was slight back, giving him support.

"Freelancer, take Hitokiri down!" ordered Cathy.

The titan, obedient to his master, balanced his lance almost hitting his rival on the chest. The opponent wielded its own weapon blocking the strike. But the sword wielded by Hitokiri wasn't able to keep the lance of Freelancer away for too long. Harrison told him to counterattack, but Freelancer defended himself with his shield. Meanwhile, Den asked Kaioh to tie Freelancer's feet. Although the knighted warrior was a formidable fighter, even he wasn't able to win against two enemies equally strong.

In no time, Freelancer was back in his amulet and Cathy was on the floor, too tired to stand.

"And this is why we always attack as a team and never solo." explained Den "Sorry we had to teach you this the hard way, but it was funnier."

"Who said I'm done yet?" asked Cathy.

"Oh, but you are." explained Harrison "You have no more titans, and even if you did, you can barely stand."

"Time to try this spell Sophie taught me, then..." muttered her "Everfight."

Part of her power was used to give her more energy, recovering most light wounds she made dodging the attacks from earlier and the small burn in her hand that happened due to a poorly shot bolflare.

"Ok, that was a nice trick." confirmed Den "But you're still out of titans, and you can't really defeat these two with bolflares."

"Well, you forget a little something." she said, picking Jirwolf's amulet. She begged her father for help, and then said the words "Materialize Jirwolf!"

As if he jumped from a higher dimension, the celestial looking wolf attacked Hitokiri by instinct, not giving Harrison time to think. Den commanded Kaioh to grab Jirworlf, but every time the tracked launched his vine against the titan, it just went the wrong way, as if space reshaped itself to give proper advantage to Jirwolf.

Meanwhile, Cathy quickly understood why Harrison warned her to not evoke Jirwolf. She felt her entire body heavy and her muscles started failing her. She was exhausted and, in practice, she barely lifted a finger during the entire training.

Meanwhile, Den used his hyperstride to grab Jirwolf, who passed into his astral form to lose him. In no time, Kaioh was back in his amulet and Hitokiri was cornered. If Harrison hadn't hit Jirwolf with his touchram, he could have finished the job Freelancer started.

Meanwhile, not ignoring all the noise, Sophie appeared at the door of the training room. It was obvious that her study wasn't soundproof enough to isolate her from all that noise.

"I can't believe you two kids left her in that state!" scolded Sophie "If I recall it correctly, Lok said 'train with her', not 'attempt to murder the poor soul with exhaustion'."

Harrison tried explaining to her that Cathy went against their advice, but Sophie was too pissed to care about his excuses. He then delivered the message she was supposed to: Lok and Zhalia were back with a mission.

The four of them moved down to the tea room, where Zhalia was talking with Guggenheim were discussing the details of the mission, while Lok was petting Cherit. Cathy dropped dead on her brother's side on the couch while the brothers picked a red velvet armchair each.

"So, did you train?" mocked Lok "I hope Den and Harrison didn't didn't give you too big of a workout."

"Well, it was my idea to evoke Jirwolf, who went completely berserker and out of control while I was dying on the floor, trying to catch my breath."

Lok imagined the scene and smiled. His attention then went back to Guggenheim and his briefing.

"So, as you can imagine, we need our best team on the local checking every alley of the city and turning every stone until we find those bastards." concluded him.

"But I thought that they already had everything they wanted from the Organization." said Zhalia "What is the Alliance going after in Istanbul?"

"No idea." he answered "Any more questions?"

"How fast can you get our plane ready?" asked Lok "We can be ready in an hour."

"I'll ask the staff at the airport to hurry up. That might do it."

"Thank you, Guggenheim." dismissed Lok "Seekers, we have a mission."

"Cool." commented Den "We got to have one day of vacations. And we spent it training. The life of a seeker is so fun."

"Mission: Chaos in Istanbul." continued him, ignoring the comment "Contain and track the Alliance operatives active in Istanbul and bring them back so that the Huntik Council and the High Chiefs of the Organization assembled can interrogate them."

"I... I'm sorry, what is this Alliance thing?" asked Cathy.

"The Alliance is a group of former Organization seekers that went off the grid and are trying to bring the Professor back from Huntik." explained Cherit "Needless to say that the Professor back to Earth would mean a giant amount of problems."

"Ok, you and I have a lot to talk about." Cathy told Cherit "I mean a lot."

"Believe me, if we assembled all our adventures, we'd have material to make a series with two seasons, a couple of numbers of a comic collection and a book." explained Sophie.

"So... are we going or what?" asked Zhalia.

She wasn't very eager with the mission. Something was in her mind, but it wasn't clear what. The boys and Cathy didn't seem to notice, but Sophie did. She knew her well enough to know when she was uncomfortable with something.

"Of course." confirmed Lok "Ok everyone, it's now..." he checked his right wrist, finding a watch there "...4:34 PM. I want all of you ready by 5:10 PM tops." he then looked to Den and Harrison "And you? I want you ready by 5:00 PM."

"Fine, dad." shot Den.

The room went quiet. None of the presents dared to speak until Den quickly corrected "dad" into "Lok". At that moment the group began to disassemble, leaving Lok, Sophie and Cherit behind

"What was that all about?" asked Lok.

Sophie looked at him as if she couldn't believe he was actually saying that. Cherit tried to contain his laugher as hard as he could but eventually had to explain to Lok what they truly meant by "dad".

"You're becoming a father figure to Den, Lok." the titan explained "And needless to say, a good one."

"You think?" he asked.

"Figures." answered Sophie "After all, you are his legal tutor and his master in the seeker world. Just like Dante was your mentor, you are Den's."

Lok wasn't comfortable with that. Or was he? He didn't know what to think about that new information.

"Well, no matter how amusing it is to see you struggle with your feelings, I gotta grab some stuff before we leave." announced her, abandoning her seat "You coming?"

"Sure." he answered, not entirely over the conversation.

**Underground Alliance Headquarters - Unknown Location**

Carl Thrane, the Heir to the Professor and the entire Organization, was sitting in is new Situation Room. From there, he would be able to coordinate missions across the globe and ensure the Professor would be brought back to Earth.

Unlike his predecessors, Thrane didn't wear white clothes. He wore a black leather jacket, a burgundy button-down shirt and jeans. That outfit separated him from Wilder and even the Professor. He wasn't only a scholar, someone with complex mastery of magic and a wide range of powerful titans. He was also a field general. An officer that wouldn't think twice before waging war by himself.

The Situation Room was equipped with the latest toys, prototypes of inventions Klaus wasn't even able to finish. A giant teknonomicon connected to a satellite network of their own - which they called the holonet - was in the middle of the room, with its massive cypherdex crystal exposed, projecting a tridimensional view of the globe in the middle of the darkroom. While the walls were repainted and repaired, the ceiling was the old basement looking that the place already had before the Alliance moved in. In several teknonomicons around the room moving and sending messages to teams on the ground, operatives of the Alliance made the room feel like the seeker version of the Pentagon. A state-of-the-art control facility that housed the currently biggest pool of operatives. A set of warriors and power second only to the Blood Spiral Army in the climax of the Spiral War.

The game was on.


	7. Istanbul (Not Constantinople): Episode 55 Part 2

** Aegean Sea, Istanbul Coast **

The Foundation plane landed in Greek territory at 7:03 PM local time. From Alexandroupolis to Istanbul, the path would be made by boat. The idea was that it would be rather to fight their way out of a boat than out of a plane, which was airtight. Of course, a boat also sounds fewer alarm bells than a plane, so that was a positive point for the mean of transportation.

Lok and Cherit were in the cockpit, keeping the ship on course and verifying the work of the autopilot. Meanwhile, the rest of the team was discussing the disembarking plan if they were ambushed.

Sophie projected the beach they were planning to use with her Cypherdex. Den tried to maintain focus, but Harrison was almost falling asleep. Cathy didn't understand most of the plan but understood that she was supposed to stay back and cover them as she could. After that bit explained, she wasn't able to concentrate on it anymore. She could only think about one thing.

"Istanbul was Constantinople." she began to sing "Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople. Been a long time gone, Constantinople. Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night."

"Every gal in Constantinople." sang along Zhalia "Lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople. So, if you have a date in Constantinople, she'll be waiting in Istanbul."

"Even old New York, was once New Amsterdam." continued the two together "Why they changed it? I can't say. People just liked it better that way!"

Sophie looked up from the Cypherdex. Although she didn't like to be interrupted, she enjoyed the song too. She was only a little girl when it was composed, but she used to browse through her mother's collection of vinyl. Among them, several songs by They Might be Giants were preserved with great care. It was one of the few things that connected her with her parents.

"So, take me back to Constantinople." continued Sophie.

"No, you can't go back to Constantinople." answered Cathy.

"Been a long time gone, Constantinople." sang Zhalia.

"Why did Constantinople get the works?" asked Cathy again, answering with Sophie and Zhalia in chorus "That's nobody's business but the Turks!"

Den clapped lightly while Harrison opened his eyes to try to understand what was going on. Before he could get an answer, Zhalia stood up and walked straight to the ship's bow. Cathy began asking questions to Den about their performance, to which he answered in the most insincere way he could.

But Sophie kept looking at Zhalia.

She was acting weird for some time. Something was definitely troubling her about this mission. Was she scared of facing the Alliance again? Or was it something else?

Sophie closed her Cypherdex and stood up as well, following Zhalia. She was looking into the horizon where the city was beginning to be seen. She crossed her arms, protecting them from a blow of cold sea wind.

"May I join you?" asked her.

Zhalia looked back and saw Sophie. She nodded, giving her permission to take a place alongside her.

The two leaned forward over the bow. Zhalia tried to hide her face from Sophie, while the latter tried to look at it. She wasn't feeling well. That bit the Casterwill was sure of.

"You've been acting strange lately." began her "I know you are concerned about something. You can talk to me."

"Don't worry about me." muttered Zhalia "It isn't anything you should stress yourself over."

"Maybe." she agreed "But you know what? Three years ago, you were the last person on this planet I would trust."

"Good pep talk."

"But." she continued, grinning "Now I feel like you are the only person in this ship I could really have a conversation with, without the need to lie or omit something every five seconds."

"Like we can't all see through you." argued Zhalia "All the Lok drama is getting old."

"I-I..." she stuttered "I don't know what you're talking about..." Sophie cleared her throat, restarting her speech "What I was saying is that you can be honest with me because I am honest with you."

"Most times, at least." she smirked.

As Sophie went to answer, Cherit landed on their side.

"Aldmirant Lambert would like to inform the two pretty ladies of the bow that we are about to dock." he explained "I think you should probably get ready."

"Thank you Cherit." appreciated Zhalia.

"You and your bad habit of being saved by the bell all the time..."

** Alliance Safehouse, Istanbul, Turkey **

Several operatives in military uniform waited outside a house in the suburbs of Istanbul. They were waiting for the arrival of their leader to the city, where they were supposed to trap the Huntik Foundation team sent to investigate their latest actions personally. The Alliance couldn't tolerate that.

A black limousine carrying the personal guard of Thrane and the Leader of the Alliance himself was headed that way, just a few blocks apart. When it stopped, Carl quickly moved from the limo to the house. Inside, he was waiting to get a scout report. Their operatives had been tracking a Foundation plane from Venice to Alexandroupolis. Sea patrols and their contacts inside the Turkish navy confirmed that a private yacht in the name of the Foundation entered the Turkish sea a few minutes after.

Carl gave the order for ten operatives to prepare themselves to be led into battle against the Foundation team. They couldn't disembark in Istanbul.

Whatever that costed.

** Yarimburgaz Bay, Istanbul, Turkey **

Leaving the ship not too far away from the city, the team unloaded what they needed and landed. No sign of the Alliance.

"I guess we're lucky." said Cathy "No sign of suits anywhere."

"This is too easy." suspected Zhalia "If Grier's report is correct, Thrane had most of the surveillance and assault teams of the Organization on his side. As a former head of both, he is one of the best strategists on the planet. This doesn't add up."

"What do you say, Zhalia?" asked Lok "Do we move or do we stay?"

"Even if we don't know what we're heading to..." muttered her "No, the best option is going forward with our plan. Staying in the open is not an option."

The group agreed. Leaving the boat behind, they walked through the city. How would they find the people they were supposed to simplemind in that mess? Foundation and promised reinforcements when they were done, but meanwhile, it could be too late.

"I don't like this." commented Den "We should have seen anything by now..."

"Just keep moving to the Foundation Hotel." assured Lok "When we're there, we'll be able to connect to the city's surveillance network and device a better, revised plan."

"If we get there." remembered Sophie "We still have a few minutes of walking until there. A lot of things can go wrong meanwhile."

"Like what?" asked Cathy.

As if providing her with an example, two suits appeared in front of them. Lok made them sign to turn back, but five more suits were blocking the way. From an alley on their right, three operatives emerged from the unlighted darkness.

Lok suddenly noticed that there were no more people in the area. No witnesses, no civilians or neutral seekers.

That wasn't bad. Less mess to clean after.

One of them with short black hair and a dark uniform stepped forward. It seems that he was the officer of the group.

"Lok and Cathy Lambert, Sophie Casterwill, Zhalia Moon, and Den and Harrison Fears." he named "Surrender now and Carl Thrane, the heir to the Professor, shall have mercy."

"What do you say, boys and girls?" asked Sophie "Do we surrender?"

"Yeah, sure." answered Lok "Oh wait. I have a meeting with the Council next Friday. I can't."

"Then I guess we have no mercy." answered Zhalia "Shall we?"

The three veterans shared a look. Following the plan, they were to open a path until the hotel while Den, Harrison and Cathy covered their backs.

"Take aim, Feyone!" shouted Sophie, evoking the Celtic warrior to fight on their side.

"Bring it in, Baselaird!" evoked Lok, calling his father's Krono-warrior.

"Fight for your lady, Kilthane!" said Zhalia, bringing Kilthane to the battle.

The Alliance soldiers called their own titans. A Mindrone, two Redcaps and Bonelasher.

"Charge!" screamed Lok, guiding his team into battle.

Surrounded by all sides, the street quickly became a confusing exchange of titans and spells.

"There's too many of them." screamed Cathy "Boltflare!"

Her boltflare missed the Mindrone she was aiming for a few centimetres. She was starting to feel nervous and she thought that resorting to her titans was the only option.

"Conserve your power." remembered Den "Lok might need us if all of this goes sour. Raypulse!" the Bonelasher was hit and, now that it was confusing, Feyone was able to take it down, sending the titan back to its amulet "Just keep holding them back."

Cathy kept throwing boltflares as fast as she could, but she began feeling a spasm growing in her arm. Kilthane and Zhalia were able to deal with one of the Redcaps, but the second attacked the soldier from behind, sending him back to his amulet.

"Holy sh-" she tried to say, but she was hit by an enemy augerfrost in the shoulder.

"Zhalia!" shouted Harrison"Cutrace!"

Jumping to protect Zhalia, he didn't think twice before almost getting himself killed. His armorbrand wasn't going to last forever under enemy fire.

"Everfight." muttered Zhalia "I can take it from here, kid."

"Watch out!" shouted him "Bring chaos, Marauder!"

The golden armoured titan of Pharaohs came in help of its master, containing the other Redcap alongside Zhalia and Harrison. On the other side of the street, Baselaird defeated the Mindrone, but two touchrams combined sent him back to his amulet, leaving Sophie alone with the two suits blocking the way.

"Double spell! Raypulse!" one of them shouted.

"Honorguard!" cast Sophie, reflecting the beams of magic back to the suits, knocking both out "Run!"

Den, Harrison, Zhalia, Lok and Sophie cast nimblefire immediately. Cathy began running, but she was quickly stopped by a suit who grabbed her arm.

"Lok!" she screamed "Help!"

"Cathy!" he screamed back "Hyperstride!"

The combined power of nimblefire and hyperstride made him jump forward extremely fast.

"Overslam!" he cast, creating a blue barrier or magic that tossed the suit far away "Hold tight." and, as he warner it, he puller his sister closer to him and started running away. His magically enhanced habilities were powerful, but carrying the weight of two was hard, even for a seeker.

As they kept running, it was obvious that the suits were giving up the chase.

"You think we lost them?" asked Den.

"I hope so." answered Lok "Go check us in. We'll be going to the room. Meet us there."

Den nodded and walked to the reception. Being younger, if the Alliance attacked, they would probably overlook him.

Upstairs, the five stars apartment with several rooms was still smelling like bleach and cleaning products. Cherit left Lok's bag with the holotome, which he put in the centre of the table. Lok and Harrison began working on a new plan for the next day, while Zhalia sat by the window.

Sophie looked at her. She was rubbing the shoulder that got hit. Picking up some bandages, she asked.

"Cared if I took a look?"

Zhalia looked at Sophie. She nodded, taking her arm out of her shirt, exposing a cold burn in her back. The affected area was still big. Sophie used a boltflare to warm a glass of water and use it to clean the wound.

"Well, now all we can do is wait." she announced "About the other wound..."

"What other wound?" asked Zhalia.

Sophie didn't answer. Instead, she looked at Zhalia for a few seconds. She immediately understood what her friend wanted to know.

"Fine." she answered "That song..."

"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)?" asked Sophie "What about it?"

"It... It was a thing between me and Klaus." she explained "He... he was a fan of Jimmy Kennedy, the original singer of the song." she put her arm back on her shirt "We loved the They Might be Giants version, so it became our private joke."

Sophie began to see the pieces fall into place.

"We used to say that we'd visit Istanbul together, maybe on a real mission." she explained with a tear in her eyes"I was twelve back then, I didn't really go on a real mission far away."

"I'm so sorry..." whispered Sophie.

"Did you know..." continue her "Did you know that I didn't visit him yet?" she was about to burst into tears "He is like a father to me. He saved me from a life of misery. What did I do? I turned him into a statue, I let him be arrested, and I didn't even have the decency to visit him."

Sophie was speechless. She wasn't able to form any words to comfort her.

"Not only I didn't visit him, but I also didn't try to know anything about him." she whimpered "God, I don't even know if he's-"

"I'm sure that he is being well treated." assured Sophie "And I understand why you didn't visit him, and so does him." she landed her hand in her healthy shoulder, pulling her closer "He's just part of a life that you are trying to forget you ever had."

"He's... he's all the family I have..."

"That's not true." she argued "We're family. We all."

"It's not the same, Sophie." disagreed Zhalia.

"We'll make it be then." assured her "Whatever you need me, or Lok, or anyone in this team... You just have to ask."

Zhalia would have hugged her if she could move her arm, but the wound made it feel numb. Instead, she leaned her head towards Sophie's arm, accepting her shoulder in which to cry for a bit.

But not too much. After all, she was still Zhalia Moon.


End file.
